Thursday, February 10, 2011 8:15 pm

Quote of the Day

To be fair, many English instructors (especially fans of Wordsworth) believe that human beings will do the right thing if someone explains it to them properly. I find that notion charming, but I don’t see how anyone who teaches first-year composition can hold it for long.

I was an English major. I did my senior thesis on Wordsworth’s Prelude. And I, too, find that notion charming. But I gave it up early in life, without ever having taught first-year composition. Indeed, I am so far from convinced that people will do the right thing if someone explains it to them properly that I’m unsure whether Jesus Christ Himself could gather 12 disciples these days without pointing a gun at people first.